1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital printing system that can satisfactorily reproduce a yellow (Y) color, a magenta (M) color, and a cyan (C) color, respectively, can excellently reproduce specific skin tones and can produce a print having significantly improved sensory image quality, and to a digital print produced by the digital printing system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In conventional printing systems, colors should be reproduced in high-fidelity hues. For example, specific skin tones can be satisfactorily reproduced in silver halide photographic printing systems (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2001-59999 and JP-A No. 2001-166436). However, the printing systems cannot selectively develop one or two of a yellow (Y) color, a magenta (M) color and a cyan (C) color and fails to satisfactorily reproduce these colors. In addition, each of the C, M and Y colors and specific skin tones cannot be reproduced with good hues concurrently.
In the other printing systems than the silver halide photographic printing systems, color reproduction is so designed as to approach the image quality of silver halide photographic images. However, for example, inkjet printing systems invite color mixture of CMY color inks, since these inks are water-soluble, and their coloring agents diffuse or migrate in a horizontal direction (in-plane direction) and in a vertical direction (in a thickness direction). The inkjet printing systems may also induce variations in color density caused by diffusion of the coloring agents in a vertical direction. In addition, a variety of inkjet image-receiving sheets having different diffusibility of coloring agents are used in the inkjet printing system. Thus, each of the C, M and Y colors, respectively, and specific skin tones cannot be reproduced with good hues concurrently.
A sublimation dye transfer printing system and an electrophotographic printing system may reproduce each of the C, M and Y colors and specific skin tones with good hues concurrently more satisfactorily than the inkjet printing system. However, these systems are not so designed. To reproduce each of the C, M and Y colors and specific skin tones with good hues concurrently, (i) the system must produce a print having overall uniform gloss, (ii) a dedicated sheet must be prepared so as to uniquely define the relationship between the amount of a toner or a dye and the color density, and (iii) the system must include a color conversion three-dimensional look-up table (LUT). However, such technologies have not yet been developed.